Cupcakes
by Lorettine
Summary: Rocketshipper? Feel free to enter! Make yourself comfortable. And prepare for trouble! What will James do in order to impress and conquer his hot-tempered female companion? Provisionally rated T, due to some anticipated sexuality. PS: I don't own Pokemon, either :P
1. Chapter 1

**Read before you read:** I started writing this story because I wanted to. I somehow managed to fall for Pokémon once more after ten years, but now I notice different things and fancy different things. I am writing this mostly for my own benefit and therefore I don't care which Pokémon do J & J currently have (I don't even remember their names, to be honest), simply a Jessie without Arbok is not Jessie. I also don't situate the story on a concrete place.

And finally, as you may have noticed by now, English is not my mother tongue and I am aware that I can only use a very limited vocabulary and so my expressions may sometimes sound awkward. If you can forgive me this, I'll be pleased if you read on! And if you do, then R.E.V.I.E.W. It will make me happy and maybe I'll be able to avoid doing the same mistakes again next time.

**I/**

A sharp scent sneaked through a narrow window belonging to an abandoned shack, with hardly any glass left in it. An Aipom that was stealthily peering inside of the building seemed to find it unbearable, it sneezed, muttered its name and hopped away swiftly.

In the meanwhile, a young woman with bright, crimson hair was doing her best to squeeze out the least bits of her hair lacquer from its container, in order to make her red locks obtain the form she intended for them. Man, how she loved the scent of it! Too bad she ran out of it the next minute.

Luckily, this wasn't enough to ruin the good mood a sweet dream provided her with. She dreamt about shopping, hanging out and dancing. She dreamt about being like one of her peers – carefree, happy and cool, just having fun all day long. Today's mission must work out perfectly, she told herself, so that I can be like that for at least one single day!

She leaned closer to the remainders of a tarnished mirror to carefully apply her mascara. Humming a beloved melody, everything was becoming more cheerful. Occasionally she'd use the mascara as a microphone, but remembered to keep it down, not to disturb the sleep of her companions.

She was wearing but the lower parts of her uniform which includes a white mini skirt and high black boots, and a bra. Unseen, she enjoyed to observe herself and run her fingers gently over her flawless figure - the rest of the clothes she was obliged to wear hid the best part. Vanity was the only paradise a girl working for an organization such as Team Rocket could sometimes escape to.

"I beliiieve I can flyyyyy…" She took a short break from singing, while she worked hard to match the color of her lips and hair. "I beliiieve I can tooouch the skyyyy…" Her lips must be perfect. Everything must be perfect! A perfect man can only fancy a perfect woman! She reached towards a pair of green earrings. "I think about it every niiight and daaay…"

"…Spread my wings and flyyy awaaay…"

She flinched and blushed, as she spotted her partner in the "mirror", resting against the door frame. She resembled a tomato, when she realized the way she was dressed. And she felt steam rising from her cheeks, when the young man remarked, staring at her cleavage rather than her face, "Wow, you look stunning, Jessie".

But no, it's not the way it seems. James was among the few men Jessie knew could value the outer beauty in a woman without being a queer. She simply had to come to terms with the fact that she was apparently not the only one who thought her body was beautiful. There's a forfeit for everything. But this forfeit was rather pleasant, because for a long time, she had been platonically in love with her partner, her perfect man.

When people around them begun to suspect this, she started to openly insult and attack James whenever she got the opportunity, desperately trying to hide the true character of her feelings. With her choleric nature, it was no problem for her. Yet in situations like this she tended to feel more like a shy teenager than the big boss in their team, which was the way she usually acted.

Such behavior was not typical for Jessie, as she was very well experienced in love-life by the time. She was only human and she had her needs. She knew that James had them too. They both had notably handsome features, which was the key to success when it came to select and seduce the object of their one night stand. She never failed to lay the man she wanted. So why did she feel so damn unconfident about James? She could bear herself to sometimes tease James in a flirtatious way, when her moodiness allowed her to. But still, why does loving someone make everything so much more difficult?

* * *

The moment he entered the bathroom with the intention of reproaching Jessie for forcing him to get out of his sleeping sack so early, his irritation suddenly changed into pure gratitude. He seldom saw her without her uniform. And now, after he almost forgot what a pleasing sight it was, there stood the femme fatale, with her concave belly, smooth skin and a mature bosom, which would have been a treat for any man to spot even for a second. So that he wouldn't have to depend on a mere reflection of so much joy to the eye, James finished Jessie's sentence, which was actually a song lyrics. She turned around – bingo! He hoped she wasn't in the mood of slamming him with something blunt and heavy for spying on her like that.

Her perfume hit his nose and he felt a sudden urge to approach and smell it from closer, when he realized that it was no perfume, but the scent of her hair lacquer. This looked like one of the rare situations, when he was the dominant one. She was blushing and fixed her eyes on his feet. She even made an attempt at covering her bra by crossing her arms, but it actually only pushed them higher. James smiled, as he imagined how would Ash & co react upon seeing this side of the attractive villain. He happened to be among the select few who did know this Jessie. This was the Jessie he lived for ever since they met. This was the Jessie who caused him so much sinful pleasure at the mere thought of her. This was the Jessie he thought to be so perfect.

"Shouldn't we be going by now?"

"Yes."

"Can I borrow your hair lacquer, Jess? I want to fix my hair too…"

"Get out, jerk!"

Their mission was the same as always – capturing Ash's special Pikachu. Too bad this has been their mission for several years by now. Each time the yellow rodent sent them blasting off, their desire to finally catch it, get a reward and a new mission, increased.

"Oh, I wish we went out tonight!"

It was hot outside, but inside the Meowth-shaped balloon's basket it was hotter. It was Jessie who muttered the previous words while loosely leaning with her back against the green rattan. She just couldn't chase that pleasant dream from her head! She kept her eyes closed and her face was fixed on the sun to appreciate the only profit the rays could offer to her in the present conditions – a tan.

The words she said were the first ones spoken in quite a while, as the midday sun had extremely exhaustive effects on the two humans and the Meowth. Luckily, refreshing gusts of wind would caress them every now and then, providing them sufficient energy to peek out of the basket in search of three youngsters with the working title "the twerps".

They were flying above forests and meadows for some time and they long since got tired of admiring the landscape. Some action would come in handy! James was almost grateful when he observed that they were running awfully low on water. It was a good pretext to deaden the fire and to start descending as soon as they spotted a lake.

* * *

"Pika-piii!"

No way! A bush full of blueberries! That's almost too good to be true! And after such a short search, too!

"Chuuu…"

Without restraint, the electric mouse dug in. It was so tired! The sun! The heat! And constantly travelling on its master's shoulder – so wearing! But those blueberries, so much sweetness! And this forest tempts any traveler, Pokémon or human, to just lay down on the soft, chilly grass and imbibe the lovely scent of the flowers. Only a very enthusiastic "Piii-pikachuuu!" could express the Pokémon's satisfaction. It was determined to run and inform its human friends about the dainty – as soon as it would fill its own tummy, of course.

The next moment Pikachu's fine hearing registered something unexpected. It became completely stiff, it even stopped chewing for a while, only its ears twitched slightly in an attempt to identify the source of the sounds. There were voices. Human voices. But they didn't belong to Pikachu's co-travelers.

It knew it should immediately return to Ash and its Pokémon-pals. What now? Should it be an obedient Pikachu, as always? Or should it give in to the itchy curiosity? Maybe there's a compromise. Yes, that's it! It will only have a quick look at those people and then it will return immediately! What a deal!

Thus resolved, the electric mouse sniffed the air, produced a determined "Pika!" and with its mouth and front paws the color of blueberries, it set off bravely in the direction of the mysterious voices.

It settled behind a Pikachu-sized bush and cautiously peeped out to see who those people were, but suddenly it had to struggle to bottle up a loud manifestation of surprise. "Team Rocket!", Ash would scream furiously. Pikachu could but open its mouth in shock. Apparently, the villains were experiencing some kind of disharmony.

"…Honestly, only a moron like you can manage to destroy both our water-bottles! You're seriously tempting me to kill you in your sleep, idiot!"

"Thank God for my insomnia-"

"Don't trifle with me, James!" Jessie raised the broken plastic bottle in her hand and delivered a couple of vigorous hits on James' head. He immediately covered the injured area, massaging it, while attempting to explain himself:

"Sorry, Jess, I couldn't have known that lake was full of Goldeen…"

"Of course! Goldeen! This time it's Goldeen, last time a Diglett emerged from the ground, what's it gonna be next time?! A flock of Lugia, wanting to play around with your stupid hairdo?!"

"I'll get us new bottles, I promise, Jessie."

"That you will! Or else you'll have to talk to the hand!"

"Wooooooobbuffet…"

"Shut up, mushy brain! Return!"

"Oh, looky, looky, look who's there!"

The latter sentence wasn't pronounced by either of the humans. It came from so close behind Pikachu that it gave it goose bumps. "Piiiiika…!"

"Eavesdropping, are we? Now, that's not very nice!"

"Pi-ka-chuuu!"

"'Ey, you two! Look who's come to visit us!"

Meowth saved James from earning more lumps on the head. "It's Pikachu!" the Rockets yelled in unison.

"Piiiika!" The yellow Pokémon didn't need to think twice. It darted off at maximum speed, doing its best to avoid not only the nets – electro-proof, no doubt – thrown by Jessie and James, but also the roots and stones, which turned out to be Pikachu's enemies as well.

"Come on, James, we can't lose it this time," Pikachu heard from behind.

The rest happened too quickly to perceive it. One of the roots did what suited its hostile nature and catapulted the electric mouse into the air. It hardly landed, when it found itself trapped. This happened so many times by now that Pikachu wouldn't even really be afraid, if it wasn't for the fact that this time Ash wasn't there. "PIIIIIKAAAAAA!"

"Protest as much as you please," James' smug tone informed it, while he picked up the net and admired it proudly. Pikachu stuck out its tongue, as it was all there could be done. Both Rockets laughed. "So now we're taking you straight to the boss!"

"You're not taking my Pikachu anywhere!"

"The twerps! They must've heard this 'ere yellow rat!"

"Piiiika!"

"Team Rocket! Give Ash back his Pikachu!"

One more laughter. "Of course…not!"

It was such a classical scene: Team Rocket recited their motto. Pikachu used thunderbolt only to obey its master, although it knew there was no use to it. The villains sent out all their Pokémon and so did Ash. For a few moments, it looked like Team Rocket could get away with Pikachu at last, but Ash's Bayleef managed to free its friend and the electric mouse, comfortably nestled in its master's arms by the time, could soon hear the epic "Team Rocket's blasting off agaaaain!"

* * *

It felt like they were flying for ages. The entire world resembled a blurry infantile painting. Green. Brown. Blue. Bright red hair in James' mouth. They must have flown across the seven seas by the time they finally landed in the centre of a miniature clearing.

Destiny wanted James to land right on top of Jessie. He couldn't complain, as she was the softest object near and far he could possibly land on. Jessie's eyes popped out, she produced a choked shriek and fell into a faint.

It took James a while to regain his senses. He shook his head to enable the flow of blood in his brain. His eyes found Meowth, who was slowly pulling itself together a few feet away. Where could they possibly be? Which way should they go? "Meowth? You all right?"

"Me head feels like broken to a million pieces. But it still seems nothing to what's happened to Jess!"

"W-where's Jessie? We've lost Jessie! Arbok, go find Jessie!"

"Chaaaar'…"

"She's right under you, you twit!"

"Jessie…"

"Now get off 'er, will ya?! You gonna kill 'er!"

James rolled aside, took Jessie's face in his hands and gently slapped her. "C'mon, Jess, wake up! I'm sorry, right? I didn't mean to…knock you out."

While holding her, James tried to look even more anxious than he was. It would all have been so much easier were Meowth not watching... The rest of the Pokémon couldn't talk, so Jessie would never find out how James appreciated that brief moment to observe the beauty of the woman he loved. No, now she couldn't beat him on the head, nor could she slap him around with her fan. There she rested, her lipstick smudged at one place and her hairdo falling apart, a few red bruises disturbing the alabaster of her skin. Still, she looked like the most perfect Sleeping beauty to him. His darling, his queen, their moment – perhaps the only one. _Damn you, Meowth_, James growled to himself, when he realized how does one wake up a Sleeping beauty.

"So did she wake up yet?"

"Did you hear her waking up?!"

"Stop raising your voice at me or you'll taste my claws!"

"Shut up, Meowth! We're going back to the balloon."

"Brave, are ya, when Jessie's unconscious!"

James ignored Meowth and after calling back Victreebel and Weezing, he swiftly frisked Jessie for her Poke Balls. Once it was only the three of them, he kneeled down beside the limp female body and lifted it into his arms. Immediately, he realized they wouldn't be going too long like this. "Let's hurry, soon it will be getting dark!"

They decided to try and trace the trajectory of their previous involuntary flight, and therefore they headed toward the most promising direction. They didn't meet a soul and they didn't talk. The air was getting heavy with the mixture of floral scents, which were more and more intense, as the sun gained redness and approached the horizon.

James did his best to keep up a good spirit by enjoying the closeness of Jessie's body and the macho part of him couldn't help staring at her plump cleavage guilelessly from time to time. She presumably weighed less than him and yet, after a time, James' back was bending closer and closer to the ground, just like the sun. _God, how she must've suffered under my weight_. He had just begun to wonder, whether you could call a human into a Poke Ball in some way, when the narrow, dusty road led them onto a large meadow. James collapsed onto the grass, laying Jessie down gently. "Meowth, we must take a rest now," he panted, drops of sweat trickling down his neck and cheeks. A disobedient strand of lavender hair stuck to the side of his nose.

"Then we'd better stay 'ere for the night. 'Tis almost dark."

"Okay. You look after Jessie. I'll get us some firewood and water."

"Wonder how, when ya destroyed all the bottles!"

"Not _you_ as well… I'll manage it. You prepare the fireplace." James removed his white jacket and tucked it under Jessie's head. He threw his friends one last look and disappeared in the forest.

* * *

Meowth yawned widely and pressed its paws against its belly, which was starting to protest against the emptiness it was exposed to during the whole day. Once again they would go to sleep hungry, penniless and without a roof above their heads. What a romantic summer night this is going to be, watching the stars with a hollow stomach, barely being able to think for hunger! Why the hell can't they capture that stupid yellow thing for once, so that the boss will enable them to lead a decent lifestyle? Are they so clumsy or is it something else? Maybe if Meowth simply left Team Rocket and lived like a wild Pokémon, it would get along better, but the truth was that whenever it considered this option, it could never imagine leaving Jessie and James, its best friends.

Meowth looked at Jessie. She didn't move, except her chest, which bulged and sunk as she breathed. The little Pokémon snuggled up against her. Sometimes those humans were a pain in the ass. But although they rarely said so, they loved Meowth and Meowth loved them back. They were a team, after all. They've been together through thick and thin. Well, maybe more through thin than thick…

Meowth made an attempt at waking his friend up, but there was no success. It was beginning to get worried. Jessie had been unconscious for several hours. What could that mean? Wasn't she in danger? Meowth pressed its furry head against Jessie's chest. A soft thud coming from inside calmed it down.

It was getting really dark. James should hurry up not to get lost in the forest. That was the last thing Meowth needed – being left totally alone in the middle of nowhere with an unconscious young woman!

The cat forced the negative thoughts away and occupied itself with preparing the fireplace. Lucky it didn't need to worry about not seeing anything in the dark at least. Swiftly, Meowth ran around, picking up all the rocks it could find. When it reached out for one more and grasped it, it got squashed in its paw. Meowth shook its head and sniffed it. "Me-owth! There be mushrooms 'ere, Jess! We're not gonna sleep hungry after all!" The Pokémon carried the stones close to Jessie and ran back to the spot where it found the mushroom. Luckily, it soon found a whole bunch of them. It only hoped they weren't poisonous.

After the mushrooms were stacked up beside the prepared fireplace, Meowth curled up by Jessie's side and quietly kept its sharp eyes on the watch. It was almost completely dark by then.

* * *

Collecting firewood took him more time that he thought it would and by the time he managed to find the way out of the forest, it fell completely dark. Luckily, the round moon fixed its transparent rays on the grass and it helped James to decipher Jessie's dark shape, laying in the exact same position he put her in.

When he approached, he threw the firewood on the ground and finally removed his shirt off his shoulder. It was soaking wet. And so was a part of James. That was the only way he could bring some water.

He kneeled down beside Jessie. A pang of worry pierced him in the heart. He supposed she'd be awake by the time he returns.

Meowth was asleep next to her.

James felt his heartbeat speed up, as he brushed his wet thumb against her lips. He hoped a bit of water might bring her to life. But did he really want that right then? The chances that she would be happy to see him so close were next to impossible.

He carefully removed her gloves, one after the other, feeling like a schoolboy on his first date. He took off her boots as well and rested by her side, leaning against his elbow. He ran his fingers through her long, long hair, now strewn all around her, untangling a few dry leaves and twigs as a pretext to touch her. Man, she was so beautiful! Maybe even more than him! She looked so fragile and vulnerable that James felt a sudden rush of tenderness and a need to protect her. He checked out Meowth to make sure it was still sleeping and he placed his hand on Jessie's smooth cheek, stroking it longingly. No, there was no pretext for this. He slowly bent down. His hand wandered from her face, across her neck and her breasts (where it actually stopped for a moment) to caress her belly. He could already feel her warm, slow breathing on his lips and he was sure Pikachu never produced so much electricity in its life. He searched for her hand and squeezed it. The entire world around them disappeared. For those futile moments, James didn't care about anything but the fire that was gaining strength inside him. Or at least he thought he didn't care…

"'Ey you! I'm not asleep, you see!"

"Meowth!" James almost got a heart attack. He couldn't say how grateful he was to the darkness for concealing his intense blush and the bulge under his abdomen. His stomach shrunk to the size of a peanut. "You…you're awake?"

"I saw everything. I _see_ everything."

"Heee…" _Of course, it's a cat!_ "All right, what do you want for keeping it to yourself?"

"You'll taste these 'ere mushrooms."

"We have dinner?! Meowth, you're a marvel!"

"Don't change the subject! Anyway, did ya bring us water?"

James handed Meowth his wet shirt.

"Eeek, that's disgusting!"

"If you have any better idea, I'll be happy to hear it."

"Am I supposed to wring it out into me mouth!?"

"You'd better do it quick, before it gets too dry."

"Aaa…let's start the fire…"

James stroke the stones until a spark appeared. Meowth added some sticks and a warm light soon lit their worn faces.

James picked up their Poke Balls and one after the other, he let out the Pokémon. When Arbok and Wobbuffet saw Jessie, they both spelled their name in an anxious tone. Meowth approached to calm them.

Upon seeing that they had no sleeping sacks, Victreebel offered James to stand in for one. He appreciated his Pokémon's proof of affection, but decidedly refused the proposal.

Once again, James rested his eyes on Jessie and repressed a sudden urge to cry, as he couldn't help her. It cost him a great deal to stay away from her. To occupy himself, he took his shirt once again and started to clean Arbok's bruises. Nevertheless, a wave of emotions was boiling inside him, threatening to break out in any moment. He continued rubbing the serpent's purple scales. He felt heat rising from his whole body. He rubbed on.

"Jimmy boy, y'all right?"

"Why, yes."

"You rubbin' the grass…"

"Oh." Meowth was right. James blushed and scratched his ear. Maybe this could be a relief: "Meowth, I…I'm in love with her."

"You don't say."

"What? You knew?!"

"I _saw_ you, dummy!"

"Ah…"

They both fell silent for a while, not knowing what to say next. True, James did feel relieved. At least a bit. He was glad that someone shared his secret. His heart slowed down a bit and James wanted to calm it down even more, but was still searching for the right words.

Arbok slithered over to Jessie and formed a protective pen around her. James, too, felt soft pressure on one of his shoulders and turned around to pat Weezing's both heads. He offered it a mushroom. Even if it were poisonous, it would only do Weezing good. James smirked at Weezing's appetite. The Pokémon seemed perfectly content. If it only knew how its master longed to be as carefree and easy to please!

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"You gonna tell 'er when she wakes up, won'cha?"

"Very funny, Meowth, thank you very much." James went pale. "Don't _you_ dare to tell her a word or I swear I'll skin you!"

They turned around to look at Jessie and Arbok sleeping innocently, unaware of the emotional war that was taking place inside James.

"Meowth? What should I do? I want her so badly."

"Staring at 'er tits is not a good way…"

"I didn't do that!"

"Not at all. C'mon, Jimmy boy, you sure know of something, with that noble blood circulatin' in your veins!"

"Actually, I am helpless. When I look at her, I forget even my name."

"As far as I know, gals are simple. Once saw it in a movie. All they wan' is romance and expensive gifts. Wit' that, you sure get 'er easily."

"For once I wish you were right, Meowth."

"Now rub my back…"

"Forget it."

"I'll tell Jessie…"

"Blackmailer…"


	2. Chapter 2

**II/**

A ray of sun kept tickling her nose persistently. She sniffed the air several times until she was sure that she what she caught a whiff of was hot food. She wanted to open her eyes, but came across some trouble upon trying it – her eyelids were stuck together, which could only mean that her eyes have been shut for a long time. She tried to gulp. It hurt like hell. Her mouth was parched. What was wrong? Were they drinking the previous night? She just couldn't remember anything except blasting off. Again.

She stretched her numb limbs and scrabbled around with her hands. There was grass. There was this nice smell (God, she was hungry!). And there was Arbok. Arbok everywhere around her.

"Well, at least it was a much more peaceful evening, with Jessie knocked out…"

Her eyes snapped open, she hardly knew how. She almost trapped over her Pokémon's body. James! "WHAT did you just say!? "

"Jessie-… Ouch! Ooouch! Stop! I didn't mean-… Heee… Good morning?"

"Jessie's back to normal…"

"Shut it, Meowth!"

"We missed you too, Jessie."

"You better had! Where would you be without me?! Oooh, you've prepared me breakfast! That's so nice of you!" She snatched James' meal and his teeth snapped in vain.

Meowth smirked at James in a provocative way, while it was happily munching its own portion. Its eyes emitted a clear message: _Now feed on your love_.

"Where are we anyway? I'm having a total blackout… I think it's a hangover." Her blood was starting to heat up again. She always felt humiliated when she depended of someone's good will. And besides: "_How many times did I tell you not to let me get drunk?!_"

"But Jessie, we didn't drink and you don't have a hangover…"

"Don't tell me what I do or don't have, I know that best! Damn…such a headache.."

"Jimmy's right, Jess. We didn't drink anything at all in fact… You passed out yesterday…"

"What? But…but I don't remember passing out!"

"One usually doesn't…"

"_How?_"

"Well…" James silenced Meowth with a threatening glance. "You fell hard after we blasted off and you hit your head…in a stone… Surely that's why it hurts so much."

"Oh my, then I am incredibly lucky not to have a single bump…"

James flushed and happened to discover an exciting speck of dust on Victreebel's leaf.

"Why are you half naked anyway, James?"

* * *

A few hours later they were just about to set off in search of their balloon. Jessie had complained to some ache underneath her ribcage and commanded that their next stop be the Team Rocket headquarters, where she'd receive medical help.

The sun was high and Jessie's hand holding Arbok's Poke Ball was already raised. She opened her lips with the intention of calling it back. Her mouth did stay open, but it didn't speak out the words it originally planned. Her jaw dropped in disbelief along with her hand.

An irritated Arbok hewed at a tiny yellow creature which begun chewing on its tail moments ago. No one saw it come. "Piiikachuuu!" The Pokémon jumped aside and blinked at Arbok.

Jessie bit her finger. There now, a wild Pikachu… She exchanged looks with her colleagues. Yes, they all got the same idea.

"Victreebel, go help Arbok!"

"Poison sting!"

"Vine whip!"

"Bite!"

"Sleep powder!"

"Wrap!"

"Razor leaf!"

"That's incredible, how come this Pikachu dodges everything?!"

"Did you hear that, Jessie?"

"What?"

"Water…"

"I'm starting to think that you need yourself examined even more than I. Why should I hear…aaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!"

They didn't exactly blast off this time. But for some time Jessie, James, Meowth and the other Pokémon laid on the drenched grass motionless and incredulous, before James broke the relative silence. "A Pikachu that can use surf…"

Pikachu was standing on all four just a few feet from them. It was scowling badly and sparkles were shooting out of its cheeks.

The Rockets jumped into a terrified hug and shut their eyes, hoping this Pikachu would make them blast off right into their balloon. With everything around them soaking wet even a modest thunderwave could result in a disaster. But nothing like that seemed to be happening. Right the contrary: when James opened his eyes, he shook Jessie and she immediately leapt to her feet. "It can't escape! Arbok, catch it! Now!"

She dashed after Pikachu, but already upon taking the first hasty steps, she felt unstable and uneasy. The wet grass made her hit the ground far too soon. The pain in her ribs stung more than ever. She shook off James, who made an attempt at helping her stand up. Before her serpent could even reach the electric mouse, she did what seemed least unreasonable in that moment: "Poke Ball, go!"

As the ball hit the target, she sighed both in excitement and pain. Like a racer who was waiting for the gunshot, she scooted after the jerking Poke Ball and gripped it tight, tapping the button on the front, just in case Pikachu still wanted to battle for its freedom. When her ears registered the desired soft whistle which meant that Pikachu was now hers, she shivered in pleasure and was about to jump for joy, when she realized that it cost her pain to stand up, let alone to jump.

Her panting friends caught up with her just in that moment.

"I've got a Pikachu… A Pikachu that knows surf! And who knows what more! I'VE GOT A PIKACHUUU!"

"Jessie, are you okay?"

"What makes you think I am not, Meowth?!"

"I sure wouldn't have my paw clamped to my chest if I were okay…"

"Well, so I trapped and fell! I've got Pikachu and that's all that matters."

"Congratulations, Jessie. Now we're going straight to the balloon and to the nearest doctor. For once, _I_ accept no protests."

James' unyielding tone shocked her. She stared at him and was for some reason incapable of hitting him, which would have been the corresponding reaction. She nodded silently, clutching her Poke Ball as if it were to disappear any moment.

* * *

Meowth was spinning round and round on a green plastic chair, chasing its tail. There didn't seem to be a single comfortable way to settle down. It had already tried all the possible alternatives, including standing on its head and some yoga-like positions. Everything was just too white and the overly chemical smell was penetrating its sensitive nostrils in an obtrusive way. And on top of it this mercilessly hard chair…

"What's up, Meowth? Why are you acting like a Houndour with rabies?"

"It's taking 'em too long."

"Examinations like this take more than just five minutes."

"We're here only for five minutes? Aaaaw… Seems like ages!"

"…Jessie's sure going to be just fine."

"That didn't sound very persuasive to me."

"Let's go wait outside…"

"Me pleasure."

Meowth sat down on a bench beside James. It snatched a white cloth packet that he was hugging nervously until then. It were their topcoats with the Team Rocket logo, from now on serving as the Pokémon's pillow. Why didn't it get such a brilliant idea earlier? Probably because of that horrid smell…apparently it completely clouded its brain.

"So what have ya made up, Jimmy?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Jess, of course."

"Oh, that?" James shut his eyes and all of a sudden, this confident, annoying smirk appeared on his face. He chuckled. "Just wait 'till you see it." He then stood up and without saying anything further, walked away, leaving behind a totally astonished scratch-cat.

* * *

Jessie appeared some thirty minutes later, accompanied by the doctor. She was carrying Pikachu's Poke Ball in one hand and her folded bra in the other. When Meowth saw this, it made a desperate facepalm at the thought of James' possible reaction to the latter fact.

"Didn't you say there was your boyfriend waiting for you, miss?"

"_Friend_, not boyfriend. He must be somewhere around."

"Well, I can't see anyone."

"And me? Am I made of vapor, or what?!"

"What?! A talking Meowth!?"

"Where's James, Meowth?"

"He…he left."

"Yes, I can see that. But where did he go?"

"He just…left."

"What do you mean, fur ball?! _What_ are you hiding from me?!"

"Oh…look, Jess, there he's coming!" Meowth could hardly speak for the thrill that overcame it. James was clearly carrying something round and white!

"Jessie, you…you're okay!"

"Something like that…"

"So…what was the problem? What happened to your-…ouch, Meowth! I mean…what happened to you?"

"One of my ribs is cracked."

Both James and Meowth started.

"There's no need to worry though," the doctor stepped in, "your girlfriend will be completely all right-…"

"I'm _not_ his girlfriend, doctor!"

"Pity…you two would make a nice couple."

Jessie took a breath to say something. She accidentally captured James' glance. Her cheeks caught fire. When was the last time she'd had a good flirt? "Well, the doctor simply means to say that that I can't get too excited for a month or so. I can't laugh hard and I must squeeze something soft if I sneeze. Is that right, doctor?" After how many seconds of direct eye-contact can it be considered a flirt?

Jessie bit her lip. She'll soon get in trim again.

"Precisely, miss. Also, you shouldn't be getting too angry."

"Oh, that is no problem, since I almost never get angry." Is it a flirt by now?

"Then I leave you now. Come back in two weeks for a check-up."

In order not to violate her fresh vow of not getting overexcited, Jessie looked up at the sky, fighting back an urge to laugh in happiness.

James must have noticed it, because he immediately handed her their white jackets. "They may not be as soft as pillows, but can still do the service." Then he finally reached behind his back and stated: "Look Jessie, I stole a Silcoon for you! You're gonna have a Beautifly now!"

"Ooooh my, come to mommy, my little sweetheart!"

Meowth staggered to catch Pikachu's forgotten Poke Ball. Well, at least James could feel good for making Jessie happy, even if she ignored him completely at the moment…

* * *

Oh no, not _them_ again! Pikachu was already looking forward to finally get a good nap at the Pokemon Centre. But now it could smell trouble. And not just double.

Ash transformed Pikachu's thoughts into words. "…And hey, it looks like that redhead has another Cascoon…thinking it's a Silcoon again, no doubt."

"That _is_ a Silcoon, Ash."

To demonstrate its attitude most clearly, Pikachu yawned widely, while Team Rocket explained them with undying fervor that they came "To denounce the evils of truth and love", etc.

"And now," Jessie cleared her throat, "let us introduce you a new member of Team Rocket!"

"We can already see your Cascoon…"

Jessie clenched her fists and was starting to look really spooky. "IT'S A SILCOON, YOU BRAT! Now I challenge you and your Pikachu, twerp."

"Not again…"

"Or is it that you're so afraid of losing?"

"We're not afraid of anything, right, Pikachu?"

"Piiika!"

"Then go and show them!"

"Aaand now comes the moment that will change history! Go, Pikachu!"

What? Ash's Pikachu frowned and backed a step away. What is she thinking?!

Everyone demonstrated sheer disbelief.

As the red sparks of the Poke Ball formed the silhouette of its fellow, Pikachu couldn't help grinning.

"Since when does Jessie have a Pikachu?!"

"Since I caught it, twerp. And now, Pikachu! Attract!"

"Dodge it, Pikachu! Pikachu, dodge it! Pikachu, can you hear me?! Dodge it, before it hits you! Pikachuuu!"

Its master's voice melted in a swirl of pink pleasure. Now wasn't that the loveliest Pikachu in the world?! Wasn't that what Pikachu's been waiting for all its life?

"Pikachu, thunderbolt, now!"

Mesmerized, Pikachu slowly took a step towards the love of its life. It couldn't hear anything anymore…

"Pikachu, surf!"

If Ash & co could hardly believe their eyes upon seeing Jessie's newest catch, this time they didn't believe them at all! They were so stunned to see a Pikachu use a water-attack that they almost forgot to grab their own electric mouse and run for their lives.

Jessie remained standing there, blinking and still processing the happenings. "Does this mean what I think it means? Did…did I just win a battle against that twerp?"

"I dunno if that was winning, but you sure sent them blastin' off…"

"Jessie, dear, calm down. You know that you have to avoid overexcitement…"

"_I'm not_…ouch. Very well then, I'll have to celebrate my triumph in silence. Good job, my sweet Pikachu, return!"

* * *

As they definitely set off in search of their balloon, Meowth did its best to persuade Jessie into giving her Pikachu to the boss. "Can ya imagine how much he'd pay us if we told 'im this is the twerp's Pikachu? As far as I know, we never mentioned to 'im whether _that_ Pikachu was a male or female. And this one is so special it can use surf! Imagine it when our boss will want to train surfing in 'is garden! All e'll have to do will be telling this 'ere Pikachu to use surf! And then, when e'll want to read before goin' to sleep, he'll just give this 'ere Pikachu a light bulb and he can have electricity for free! Then e'll be sayin' _Meowth and his friends are my best agents! I'll have to give 'em a proper reward for bringing me such a rare Pikachu!_"

Meowth's rhetorical skills must have developed incredibly since last time, because it actually worked and in the end, just as they reached their long-desired Rocket-balloon, Jessie agreed and even muttered something like Meowth was right.

* * *

There was no point in going anywhere that day. It was getting pretty dusky already. James was relieved for them having found their means of transport at last. In the early morning hours they'll ceremonially hand Pikachu over to the boss. And then Jessie will probably want to go dancing, like she does every time after they receive salary.

James was silently looking for some holes in the balloon, ready to mend them till he could still see something. _What a coward I am, I could have told Jessie we'd go to the lake together!_ On the other hand, had they gone together, he wouldn't have been able to perform the first stage of his brilliant plan so early. When Meowth remarked that that Silcoon apparently didn't work the way James had planned, the young man only sneered and shook his head. "Silcoon wasn't a part of the plan. I accidentally spotted and stole it. Just wait though. 'Tis getting closer now…"

* * *

Author's note: I actually saw a Pikachu use surf on Pokemon Stadium 2.


	3. Chapter 3

**III/**

Whoever said orgasm was the best feeling in the world didn't get to use a toothbrush after two entire days! Jessie was just experiencing quite a blissful state of body and soul and she wanted to enjoy it.

The forest was calm and lush. Its inhabitants produced gentle rustle from time to time. Still, Jessie was feeling safe, because she was singing along once more as soon as her teeth were white as snow, thus keeping away any possible Poke-intruder. She hissed, as she removed her black top and touched the bandages drawn tight under her breasts. The doctor told her not to remove them until she came for the check-up. Already after those few hours she was trying to make herself believe that the area was itching due to lack of hygiene and she was unable to imagine how would she survive two long weeks without once scratching that cursed, aching spot. She tapped out the two tiny hooks holding the bandages together, checked their resistance and considered the pluses and minuses of an evening swim in the lake so briefly that the next moment the echo of a giant splash traveled through the damp air. An army of restless water drops landed on Jessie's clothing, scattered on the shore.

She closed her eyes slowly and spread her limbs. She took a deep breath and floated calmly on the surface of the lake for a while, half-immersed in the water, letting the gentle waves carry her where they wanted. She meditated about how gorgeous she was. She enjoyed how the feeble currents played around with her hair, giving her the best massage she could wish for. And it looked like the bandages didn't mind, either…

Quiet… Freedom… Love…

Someone's foot slipped and cracked a stick.

Jessie started violently and dived into the water so that only the upper half of her head was visible. She accidentally took a few gulps and started to choke, doing her best not to show it too much. Her heart was throbbing painfully against her injured rib. That sound came from a place that was disagreeably close.

All frozen, she waited a few minutes, but as she didn't detect any more suspicious sounds, somewhere deep within she found enough courage to inconspicuously swim to the shore, reach out from the water for Arbok's Poke Ball and call it out. "There's no battle now, Arbok, just stay here and watch out for me for a moment," she whispered. Nevertheless, she didn't feel much safer. She shuddered with disgust at the thought that someone might have seen her naked.

As she was getting out of the water, she carefully tapped the incriminated areas with her hair, thanking God for making it grow to such length.

"What is it you're chewing, Arbok? I hope it's nothing venomous, I wouldn't like to worry about you. Oh, wait! You're a poison-type, I'm so silly… Huh?! D-did you hear that?! That sound again! There is someone in the bushes…!" Her voice became weepy. Hurriedly, she hid behind Arbok's massive body. She was sure she could hear someone running away from the place where they were right now. Her breath was shallow and interrupted. Then and there she swore to herself she'd never undress again, unless she'll be absolutely sure there's no one who's not supposed to see her like that.

The next moment she noticed something on the ground. She frowned and picked up a blue rose. A colorful piece of paper was fastened to its stem. It was a bit oily and full of crumbs. "Arbok, have you just eaten this?" She could swear to have spotted a halo above the Pokémon's head, as its thin tongue flashed out to lick up one last crumb stuck to its nostril. Despite the anxiety in the air, she smiled. Nevertheless, her smile froze the moment she turned the paper around and saw her name written there. "What was it, Arbok? Did you see the person who brought it? It must have been that pervert who was watching me! But hey, how does he know my name?" Her stomach shrunk and suddenly she felt vulnerable like never before. She thought that maybe if she actually dressed up at last, this intrusive feeling could be oppressed. She crumpled the paper nervously in her hands, when she realized two things – that it was grooved and that there was a note attached to it. From the first she deduced that the paper used to contain a cupcake. The second naturally provoked a few impatient moves, as Jessie tore the note open. The handwriting was very shaky. She was already starting to tremble for cold as well. She read the note to herself:

_**J**__ust a few years ago, a little girl was walking through a forest with her mother. They were looking for a treasure that was supposed to be hidden there, according to a legend their family was passing on to each new generation. When they reached a deep gorge, the mother trapped and disappeared in it, never to be seen again. The little girl was left completely alone and had to take shelter in the house of some very distant relatives, who treated her with cruelty. But not for a moment did she forget about the treasure. She was strong and brave and she resolved to find it to honor her mother's memory, cost it what it may._

Jessie remained staring at the note stiffly, skimming it over and over again to find an actual meaning of that story which sounded to her like the figment of some insane imagination. The only thing that kept worrying her was that it definitely was addressed to her – how many more Jessies could there be right then? And _this_ Jessie never liked to search for hidden meanings.

She was only roused from her reveries once she realized she couldn't see the handwriting anymore. Arbok was gazing at her face anxiously. Jessie dressed up in a rush, slipping the note into her pocket and grasping her rose. "Arbok, let's go, I wonder if James and Meowth are worried about me by now."

When a young lady resolves to contemplate, everything around her begins to form question marks. This is what happened to Jessie on her way to the camp. Panting, she was trotting out of the darkening forest, hotly pursued by a giant serpent. Her wet and heavy hair was whipping the bare part of her back. It was a pleasant refreshment, because she was getting somewhat sweaty due to exercise. _Sweaty right after I underwent a most intense cleansing procedure, what irony… _

She didn't spare too many thoughts to her hair or the sweat on her forehead though. She just kept seeing those imaginary question marks everywhere! And the biggest ones were the mysterious objects she was carrying in her hands. What was that note supposed to mean? Was it a threat? Was it a joke? Or was it some very unique declaration of love? That would sure explain the rose. But why on the earth a cupcake? True, this cupcake was one of those superexpensive ones she always wanted to taste – even if it didn't do any good to her perfectly thin waist. But she never told _that_ to anyone. Or did she…?

Should she fear? Should she investigate? Or should she simply forget about it?

Jessie didn't know whether there was any point in trying to figure out the possible originator of the weird note. Dozens of male names were circling inside her head – which one of her one night stands wants seconds? Or is it any of her ex-boyfriends? Better not. Her stomach shrunk at the mere thought of what she went through when it came to relationships. And James? She can't be that lucky, no. Why would he do that? He is convinced that Jessie despises of him as a man. And besides – he's just too childish and stupid to come up with an idea like this.

So what kind of game is this? Is Jessie supposed to make the next move? Is she supposed to write a story just as pointless as the one she received and leave it on the same place? Only time will tell her what to do next, she concluded. And besides, she'd almost reached the campsite by the time and she really didn't feel up to discussing her mysterious admirer – or whoever it was – with her colleagues.

The fire was already set. James and Meowth were examining a large sketch spread out on the grass.

"So how was your swim, Jessie?" James addressed her as soon as she approached a bit.

"Good, I mean…really nice. But…how do you know that I went swimming?"

"Did…did I say swimming?"

"Yes."

"Well, I meant…bathing...washing yourself, and so on. Maybe I accidentally said swimming, but that's not what I meant."

"Pity. Someone was spying on me and it would have been a relief to know it was you."

"It wasn't me, Jessie."

"Very well then. What's that on your trousers?"

"What do you mean?"

"Those disgusting stains. As if you had spattered yourself with…yoghurt or something… Yuck, it's on your hands, too!"

James glanced at the areas Jessie had just mentioned and he went visibly pale. "That's nothing. I mean, I…don't know what it is."

"If you don't know, I may reveal you my tip, James," Jessie giggled. The giggle was muffled by a lump growing in her throat, impeding any further verbal reaction from her side.

"And where did you snatch that rose?"

"None of your business." Jessie avoided James' look and made a beeline for her sleeping bag, still rolled up in the basket of their balloon. She heard Meowth and James whisper. She didn't even have the power to go and reproach them for it. She curled up in her sleeping sack and tried to persuade herself that it's just a coincidence. Surely, she's just being too conceited. On the other hand, she has beauty enough to arouse lust in just any man, who would dare to doubt that? But James? James always seemed to be an exception. In everything. And yet, there she was now, suspecting her secret love of masturbation at the thought of her! Shouldn't that be making her happy in fact…? No, because James masturbating implied James having seen Jessie naked – or should she give up on logic?

She should really try to get some sleep. Maybe James _did_ eat a yoghurt after all…


	4. Chapter 4

After an unpleasant, but necessary break due to some exams I present you a new chapter! Hope you enjoy reading it!

**Chapter IV**

"Come, Tangela! Tonight's gonna be awesome! And I really feel like seducing some lonely beauty! How about you?"

The tiny blue vine ball blinked at its master. It was loyal and would obey no matter what. It was happy whenever its master was. And it was even happier, when its master was happy thanks to Tangela. It darted off after him, in the direction of a fancy looking bar.

Jasper ran a hand through his violet locks. He has a day off tomorrow thanks to another successfully accomplished Team Rocket-mission, so he did his best to look irresistible. That way he'll sure have a reason to stay up late tonight! He was wearing his newest shoes and took Tangela along, because its feet were the same color. And on top of that, Tangela with its large, melancholic eyes was a fair girl-bait. Nothing can stop Jasper tonight!

He smirked. His teeth glistened in the dark of the night. He commanded Tangela to jump onto his shoulder and he walked into the bar slowly, looking very important, enjoying how with every taken step more and more eyes were fixed on him. He smirked again. Most of those eyes belonged to lovesick females, all of them hoping he'd pick out _them_ and none other. He was a regular guest to that bar and most of the barmaids knew him quite closely.

The music was on loud, yet it felt as if only the echo of Jasper's steps was filling the hot air. He breathed in the mixture of cigarette smoke, perfumes and sweat, absorbing the atmosphere. All the desperate, horny lassies were making way for him, as if he were a god appearing in front of mortals. The barmaid on a nightshift called out to him, asking whether he'd like his favorite drink – on the house, naturally. He smiled and accepted, and as his eyes shot by the bar, he noticed that there was one girl who did not turn around in rapture when he came in. Now this is unacceptable!

He sat down right next to her. "Give us _two_ drinks, if you please," he roared at the barmaid loud enough for the daring young lady to hear him. The barmaid obeyed him giving a displeased grimace.

"A Sex on the beach for you, miss?" He pushed the elegant glass under her nose, since her ignorance was starting to vex him.

"Better not, sir. And besides, I have my drink already."

"Then maybe somewhere else than on the beach?"

"Where exactly are you heading?"

"To the depths of your precious-…" She slowly turned her head to him and a pair of sapphire eyes singed his face. "Jessie? I can't believe it's you! I-…, I-…"

"Jasper?! What the hell are _you_ doing here?!"

"Me? Uh…never mind, just passing by."

"I don't believe you."

"Then why ask?"

"You were always a liar. Leave me alone."

"Tough and irresistible as always, are we, Jess?"

"Drop it."

"So, how many missions have you and your blue-haired clown accomplished so far? One and a half? Or am I too optimistic?"

"For your information, sweetheart, just this morning we handed over to the boss a Pokémon so rare your primitive brain could hardly imagine it."

"Oh…«sweetheart»…how many years has it been since you've last called me that?"

He was really taking a lot of pleasure in giving his ex-girlfriend a hard time. He enjoyed the painful look she shot him in the next moment, doubtlessly upon recalling why she had ran away that evening when he last saw her.

Jessie's anxious movements insinuated that she wanted to get away. Her glance was flitting through the crowd in the bar, calling out for help, while no one seemed to be responding. Jasper nudged Tangela slightly with his elbow, it would know what to do. The next instant Tangela's vines were twined firmly around Jessie's feet.

Jasper could almost hear the sweat trickling down her temples. She looked around again and tried to fight back any kind of more explicit reaction. Jasper leaned closer to her, doing his best to make his white teeth glisten once more. What would any other female give for this? "Back then it didn't work out, so we have to make it up tonight, hun."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Jasper."

"You know it very well, Jessie. Or is there any other reason why you've left your bra at home?"

"You're so egocentric! Didn't you think about the possibility of me having health problems? Or that I might be here with someone else?"

He snorted. "Oh, really? Who do you mean?"

This was going to be a well deserved catch. After all, girls who resist are much more exciting. He made this conclusion in that very moment, since no girl ever before resisted him. He conquered her once and he will do it again! But even people who are always on their guard may come across an unexpected obstacle.

"She means me."

Jessie took a sudden deep breath and grabbed her wannabe rescuer's arm with both hands. How touching.

"James! Long time no see! We've just been talking about you, haven't we, hun?"

"Leave her alone, Jasper!"

"Why should I leave her alone? That's not what she wants, is it, Jessie?" He reached out and patted James on the shoulder. "Congratulations, Jimmy. You're positively the dumbest guy on this planet. You have material like this at your disposition for years and you don't screw her one single time? You must either be mental or gay. But I sure won't take the time to persuade you. If you don't want her, I'm taking her myself!"

By that time, everyone's attention belonged to the three of them. The music was still on, but there was no more chattering and laughing. Instead, suspense and heavy tension filled the air.

Jasper was expecting James' reaction invitingly. It sure wasn't a disappointing one. Jasper was really hungry for excitement in his life, so he welcomed it when James' hand grabbed him by the collar and leaving no room for the misinterpretation of his intention, he dragged Jasper to the centre of the parquet, demonstrating a surprising amount of strength.

"Very well, little boy. Come, show Jessie how you defend her honor," Jasper growled mockingly and their bodies got out of sight in a cloud of dust, rage and male pride. Not for a moment did Jasper doubt about his victory. When it came to fighting, one would hardly find a greater proficient. Not a single one of his finely aimed hits missed its target.

Jasper leered at Jessie for a brief moment. She already managed to get rid of Tangela and was now giving some faint attempts to separating them. She kept shouting James' name. Jasper noticed that one of the hangers of her green dress slipped off her shoulder. If it could be even more fun, why not take advantage of it? Fighting with James was just too easy.

Jasper tossed James aside and grabbed Jessie by the wrist instead. He made her turn her back on him and wrapped his arms tight around her body. Everyone gasped in shock and no one dared to move. Jasper raised his right hand and ran it over Jessie's cleavage, leaving behind four thin, bloody traces. He felt that he went completely hard. Jessie was flipping in his grip like a fish and proved to be incredibly strong for a woman. All of her resistance proved to be useless though and she admitted it by starting to cry.

When James saw this, he got up shakily, wiped the blood from his nose and did what was more than obvious – tried to free her. Nevertheless, this was exactly what Jasper's been waiting for. He pushed James away and made him land on the floor again. Jasper reached in his pocket and pulled out a hunting axe. A blade of two and a half inches, a handle made of cherry wood. Brand new. It was a present, from him to himself. And now was the time to try it out! He pressed it against Jessie's pulsing throat.

She yelled out like a slut, but shut up the moment she realized that the blade was sinking into her skin when she tenses up her throat.

A weak squeal made Jasper throw a busy look at his Tangela. Terrified, the tiny Pokémon was gazing at its master, barely believing what it witnessed. It was trembling and clearly trying to process the fact, that its master is not the person he seemed to be all this time.

Jasper was suddenly feeling like the master of the world. "And now, if you want this young lady to live to tell the tale, you will all give me your Poke Balls without protesting. And then you-" he turned to the frightened barmaid, "-will give me a free room to share with her. In the morning we will all go home safe and sound and satisfied."

Man, how often has he heard Jessie say that she hated whining – and what was she doing now? He wasn't sure, as he couldn't see it, but he did feel something warm and wet around his knee and he deduced that Jessie's pelvic muscles must have betrayed her cruelly.

Jasper's hand was beginning to ache from gripping her so tight and he also became a bit nervous. He sincerely hoped that the people would obey him in everything, because if not, everyone would find out that he had no intention of injuring Jessie even further. This thing was getting a bit out of control.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Place all your Poke Balls to my feet, I won't be waiting forever!"

Timidly, a few horrified persons gathered around, slowly removing the Poke Balls from their pockets. They all seemed to postpone the actual moment of parting from their Pokémon as much as they could, hoping that by some miracle, that handsome young man would break out in laughter and say that it was all just a stupid joke, and that he sure did overdo it a bit.

Of course, Jasper couldn't expect that there would be many people who have brought their Pokémon along for a night out. Still, he kept repeating his order to maintain the authority. He didn't forget to warn the barmaid that she'd regret it bitterly if she attempted to call the cops. And so, there was soon a nice bunch of balls by Jasper's feet. Everything seemed to be working out just fine, until the crucial moment when a random teenager girl trapped and dropped one of her Poke Balls. This caused the ball to open up and a sharp red flash of light emerged.

"Maaagneton!"

The androgynous Pokémon was immediately attracted by the blade of Jasper's knife, but it was strong enough to withstand physics. Jasper's hand holding the knife wasn't prepared for something like this though, so he had to put a great effort into keeping his hand immobile, as either the magnet or the iron had to go. And the magnet appeared to be unyielding. Dammit, he can't fail now! What an embarrassment it would be, he can't afford that! All these miserable females must crawl at his feet, just like they always did.

A cold vine appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around Jasper's wrist firmly. It pulled hard.

"Tangela, you filthy traitor!" Besides rage, there was also a portion of desperation in Jasper's voice. His newest Pokémon, his newest and most useful confederate was against him! It was his Typhlosion who battled and defeated it, Jasper never realized how much power can there be in such a small body. His hand was beginning to grow numb and soon the knife flew out of it, meeting Magneton's shiny body with a decisive clink.

Jessie collapsed to the floor and swiftly crawled over to James and curled up in his arms like a child, sobbing.

Before Jasper admitted that he had better ran away, he grabbed the disloyal Tangela and roughly smashed it against the floor. The next moment he felt a couple of arms grabbing him, a few blunt hits and then everything went black. The Don Juan-part of Jasper was sure done for, and he could blame but himself.

Tangela felt like after receiving a strong double edge attack. Its whole body hurt and it had to remain on the floor for a few minutes, before it could stand up and shake the dust off its blue vines. There was a lot of mess in the bar. People were confusedly raking over all the Poke Balls, trying to find theirs.

Jasper was already gone. Tangela sighed sadly at the thought of having lost its master after such a short time. There still wasn't a specially strong bond between them, but Tangela liked Jasper. He always took it to this bar, where so many gentle, female hands caressed and fondled it. And now all this was over. But still, Tangela was sure it had done the right thing. Through the crowd, it managed to catch a glimpse of the lady who was being threatened by Jasper. She was sitting by a table and her lavender-haired companion was talking to her, holding her forearm.

"There you are, little one," a honey-sweet voice somewhere above Tangela chirped. A pair of hands lifted it in the air and seated it onto the bar. It was the barmaid. "Don't worry, Tangela, you're safe now. And you and Magneton are the heroes of the evening, too! How are you feeling? Didn't that monster hurt you too badly? Hey, looking good! But just in case, drink this. It'll relieve your pain before I can take you to a Pokémon Centre. Would you like to stay here with us?"

That nice young girl poured out so much information at once that it took Tangela a while to get it. Somewhere underneath its vines, it smiled and with a happy squeak it jumped into the barmaid's arms. "You're such a cutie," she laughed.

"Thank you, Tangela," the Pokémon heard behind its back. It flipped around in its new mistress' arms. It was the blue haired guy, the one that fought with Jasper. "You saved Jessie. You're just a lot better than me." He extended his hand and Tangela extended a vine. It was for sure a very special and a very significant handshake.

Meowth was given exact instructions earlier that evening. It was supposed to deliver a certain cupcake and a rose to the receptionist of the hotel the trio was staying in overnight (it was another one of those rare, happy nights when they had enough money for a hotel room, and all that thanks to Meowth, of course, because Jessie would never have given that Pikachu to the boss by herself). The receptionist would then pass it on to the kitchen and from there it would be brought back to their room the next morning, fully integrated into Jessie's breakfast.

James explained it his plan the day before. It will be a detective story without a Watson – Jessie will have to figure out everything all by herself. It will surely be funny to watch. But in fact, Meowth had all its claws crossed for James. If only back then Meowth had tried harder, it sure might have invented a similar plan to capture Meowzie's heart…

Generally, Meowth enjoyed situations like this one, because it could feel important when someone heard it talk for the first time. It also enjoyed situations like this one, because it had the hotel room entirely for itself! The television, the beds, the curtains… and a soft, warm yarn ball, a bribe from James. Meowth had to remind his colleague that keeping it shut is as simple for the scratch-cat as learning to swim and James seemed to understand it very quickly.

"There there," the receptionist shook her head in disbelief. "I never saw a talking Pokémon before. Aren't you just a robot or something?"

"I'll show ya who's the robot here!"

"Okay, calm down. I didn't want to insult you, you just possess an extremely rare gift."

"I also have a rare gift for ya! Well, not for _youse_ exactly…" Meowth explained its intention.

"Oooh, that's so romantic! Who is it for?"

"Can't tell ya! Youse women are not to be trusted! You blab out everythin'!" Leaving the stunned receptionist behind, Meowth jumped up to reach the elevator button.

The hotel was indeed just perfect compared to forest floor and sleeping sacks. In fact, it was pretty good even in terms of hotels. Modern furniture, a telly with movies for free and electricity that only works when you use your hotel card. All this is very nice, but why did they have to neglect an important thing such as water-taps? The previous guest must have resembled a Machoke, judging by how hard it was for James to loosen them, receiving an ice-cold watergun right into his face as a bonus.

Jessie told him to go to the shower first, while she would sit and try to calm herself down a little. She must have been feeling horrible and humiliated, but certainly not worse than James, who felt like he had failed as a man. He didn't rescue Jessie. She was being abused while he was writhing on the floor in self-pity. He witnessed the whole thing and he didn't do anything. If it wasn't for Tangela and that Magneton, who knows how it would have ended up!

He finally managed to set the water to the right temperature. Even through the sounds of the television and the flowing water James' ears registered traces of Jessie's voice. With the reproach still gnawing him inside, he smiled to himself. It is a good sign that she's talking at least. It must mean that she's feeling better now. Hopefully, she'll be feeling even better after she finds her little gift in the morning…

"James? James, are you asleep?"

"No."

"I can't."

"Can't what?"

"Sleep."

"No wonder, after what you've been through."

"Would you mind it if we talked a bit?"

"Of course not, Jessie. What would you like to talk about?"

"Tonight made me remember our training daze again."

"How come?"

"We've been through so much together, you, me and Meowth… We _are_ the best team, just like we've resolved back then, no matter how many times we've blasted off."

"…I didn't act like a teammate today."

"Oh, stop whining! You've done what you could, James! It just all went wrong, it wasn't supposed to be like that… _He_ wasn't supposed to be there. He ruined our evening completely… But let's not talk about it. This day is going to work out better, isn't it? We will start working on our new mission and on our promotion! We will catch loads of rare Pokémon and we'll be unstoppable!"

"Yes, I can see it right before our eyes! That surfing Pikachu was sure just a vanguard of an avalanche that is about to come!"

Jessie's cracked rib acted like the most efficient alarm clock in the morning hours. She sat up in bed and rubbed the injured area. Next time she'll have to make sure she wouldn't turn to sleep on her stomach during the night. Both Meowth and James were fast asleep and when she checked the clock she stopped wondering at this – it was but seven in the morning. She froze for a few seconds to have a think about whether yesterday evening wasn't just a bad dream, but she had to face the reality the moment she touched her throat and tapped out the traces of Jasper's knife. It was still very sensitive. She gulped and licked her lips. Hopefully there won't be a scar… Lucky her uniform will conceal the cut until it heals.

The wriggling and yawning of her teammates brought Jessie back to her senses and before she could say anything or even blush at her untidy looks, she could hear James' delighted exclamation: "It's breakfast time!" It filled her with satisfaction to see that his hair was just as disheveled as hers.


	5. Chapter 5

**V/**

Suri wasn't her actual name, just a nick. A nickname that made this fragile little creature feel like she was a Someone. Every one of her classmates had a nickname, it wasn't cool to be called upon by your real name. And to top it off, Suri was given the chance to feel like a real adult by being allowed to help out at her parents' hotel during the summer. True, they didn't trust her with any really significant work, but, carrying washed towels and bed sheets from the laundry to the storage wasn't bad either. Not when she imagined, maliciously, how all her classmates are spending their time playing, while she's working, like a real adult! And what's more! The previous night her mother trusted her with a super important task! If she delivers the pre-ordered breakfasts to one six one this morning, she might see a talking Meowth!

Suri was incredibly excited. In just a few months she will be ten years old and given the fact that she has two older brothers who always provided her frequent contact with Pokémon, she couldn't wait to become a trainer herself! So little missed for her goal to come true, and yet, Suri was literally psyched out whenever she got a chance to touch a real Pokémon, let alone a talking one!

The tray in her hands and all its load was shaking dangerously, partly because of Suri's walking and partly because of the sheer excitement that overpowered her.

She was trotting up the last few stairs, when suddenly she took a step so clumsy that both saucers received just the perfect amount of coffee to disturb Suri's sense of aesthetics – she has to clean them before she delivers the food! Cursing quietly, she raised the edge of her apron to wipe the tiny dishes. Arranging them to their original positions, her eyes rested on a tasty-looking cupcake. It was big, soft, wrapped in pink paper and tempting Suri's little fingertip to touch it and snatch a raisin. No one would notice.

…No one _will_ notice.

One or two raisins – does that even matter? But wouldn't it look weird if there was only one raisin left on the cupcake? Suri never liked taking risks, so she ate the last raisin as well. And the then she noticed it: damn, there's a bit of the coffee on the cupcake as well! Oh, what a dilemma…

There are so many other cupcakes in the lobby café…

No! She got a task and that is to get this tray to one six one! Along with that cupcake.

But on the other hand, surely everyone would agree that a cupcake this beautiful that has been stained with coffee is simply unfit for serving.

As she was munching on it, Suri strode off to the café at a hasty pace. She grabbed a cupcake similar in size and form to the one she had just eaten and ran back to the tray. About to toss the greasy, pink wrapping, she noticed that a small piece of paper was fastened to it. It didn't look like it originally came with the cake, which aroused Suri's natural female curiosity. Carefully, she unwrapped the note and read it, checking whether she was really alone in the corridor. It didn't really make sense to her though, so she simply shrugged, folded the pink paper and later tucked it under the plate where the cupcake originally was. After all, who would care for some note when she's about to meet a talking Meowth?! Quickly now, to one six one, Suri is already so impatient!

She knocked and stepped away, but the moment the door opened, Suri stood on her tiptoes and peered into the room hungrily. "I'm sorry, sir, …" The young man with purple hair took the tray and thanked her, but as he was about to close the door, Suri knew she has to bring the action, if she wants to see Meowth, so she simply asked for it. In she went, Meowth she snuggled and never got to see the color which settled on the young man's face once he looked properly at the cupcake Suri so carefully arranged for him.

* * *

When one of your ribs is cracked, your throat is decorated by a long, coarse cut and you possess no hair spray, it is nigh impossible to make your hair stand the way you want it. Jessie could write essays on that. Because having her everyday hairdo was vital for her and now she couldn't have it, Jessie considered that maybe she could beat up her teammates once again, because it was a very long time since she last did it. Nevertheless, her physical condition saved James and Meowth from receiving damage, but it didn't save James' share of food, which Jessie snatched away just to tease him.

"Mmmh, so delicious..! How much money do you have left? I'm going to buy us some new costumes to put into practice the plan that's definitely going to make us the most famous and rich Team ever!"

"A plan? What plan? You didn't tell me anything…"

"Me-owth…me neither!"

"Why, there's no need, since I am the soul and brain of every one of our plans."

"I refuse to let you humiliate me like this all the time, Jessie!"

Jessie looked at him with the most angelic expression she could possibly produce. "Then come, prevent me." They shared a look more expressive than either of them could bear. They both looked away and blushed.

"So what's the big idea about your plan, Jessie?"

"We'll dress up like common excavator operators. Our secret weapon will be hidden in it and with its help we can suck up all the twerp's Pokémon…"

"Why still follow the twerps? We already gave Pikachu to the boss, haven't we?"

"Yes, but we can still make good profit from selling the real one…or keeping it."

"But Jessie, we've used a sucking machine so many times! The twerps won't get fooled again…"

"There there, you overestimate them. We can use a sucking machine as many times as we want, that twerp is just too stupid to ever get hold of his Pikachu when we switch it on."

"But they will still recognize us…"

"We could use the same disguises all the time, but the twerps will always fall for them. The same rule goes for our traps."

"Jessie, you're so clever."

"Tell me something I don't know."

It so happened that within a few seconds, Jessie thought this much teasing will do for now. She gave James back the remainders of his breakfast and reached out for some coffee.

She froze on halfway, in an unnatural pose, wide-eyed, staring at the tray in disbelief. That cupcake could be a coincidence, but how about that rose? It looks the same as the one she found only a few days ago by the lake! Moving her pupils only, she made sure James was busy with his sandwich and newest bottle cap. She slowly lifted the cupcake and meanwhile pretended to be only just stretching her legs. There seemed to be nothing extraordinary about the innocent dainty, no message, unless it was baked into it, which Jessie thought highly unlikely. Still careful, she took her coffee and the plate with the cupcake as well.

The moment she lifted the plate, the lemon in her throat that was causing her trouble gulping until recently came back to action, bigger and tougher than ever. Well, there it was. Another note. Doubtlessly, it holds the continuation to the previous one. But, for Mew's sake, how do they call this illness which causes your admirer to send you messages that are fastened to a cupcake wrapper, with no cupcake inside?!

"What is it, Jess?" James. Now what?

"Nothing important." Slipping the note in her pocket, Jessie herself slipped into the bathroom, locked the door and placed a hand on her throat, as if that were to help her regain her presence of mind. Shakily, she ripped the note open.

**_E_**_bony hair and sapphire eyes, the little girl soon grew into the most beautiful young woman near and far. Although her ill-wishing relatives didn't let her do what she wanted, one day she managed to escape and go to town. Many young men saw her beauty that afternoon and they all wanted her to become their wife. The young woman was too afraid to talk to any of them. The way her relatives treated her forced her to build an impenetrable shield around herself and although she was a kind person, she preferred to chase everyone away with her anger, because she was afraid of getting hurt. Everything changed that same day, when she met a prophet who offered to look into her future and tell her about the treasure._

Again. An unfinished piece of story, just like last time. This implies there's more to come. But how about when she gets the final part? Nerves and excitement at the same time. Sweaty hands, undone hair, a painful rib, but still, a soothing feeling – someone really likes her! Yet this someone must be following her, which is not that soothing anymore. A perv of some kind? After yesterday night she can at least be sure it's not Jasper. And James? No…not James. He's just too stupid.

* * *

The sun was so strong on that day that its rays alone could be used instead of a pocket lighter. The trees on the edge of a forest somewhere in Hoenn could feel it, letting their leaves shiver gratefully even with the smallest gust of wind. On the dusty road leading just by the side of this forest, in the shadow of dense bushes, a young and worn Team Rocket member is sitting on a dead tree trunk.

Jasper took a deep drag on his cigarette and kicked a stone. It has been a long time since he last felt embarrassed like this. And what's more – he literally lost a fight to that good for nothing James! Sleeping together or not, Jasper could very well see the way those two were secretly looking at each other.

He blew out a large cloud of smoke, hoping it would cast a veil upon his humiliation. He must make up a way to revenge himself!

An opportunity arose surprisingly soon.

For a couple of years those two useless idiots had been after a Pikachu that was said to be extremely powerful. It belonged to a little boy called Ash, whose photos were circling in the Headquarters from time to time, it depended on who and where happened to spot Ash. Naturally, Jasper got to see some of these photos since he entered the services of Team Rocket. Therefore he could have sworn that one of the four persons he could see approaching was precisely this little, dark haired boy. Not only did he look exactly like Jasper remembered him from the photographs, he also had his Pikachu with him! It was strange, since ultimately both Jessie and James kept receiving extras and promotions, because it was believed that this very Pikachu is now located precisely in the Headquarters, charging Giovanni's mobile and enabling him to surf in his garden! Giovanni was about to use this Pikachu to create his Pokémon army in order to rule the world! The fact that the boy still has his Pikachu can only mean one thing then. This one thing made Jasper smirk maliciously and feel extreme satisfaction.

Before the kids could catch a glimpse of him, he jumped behind the bushes by the road and quickly pulled out his phone to secure some nice and juicy evidence of his colleagues' little trick. Evidence that will doubtless make them lose their posts.

* * *

"Deli deliii!"

Finally! Such a long journey! And that purple haired young man always gives Delibird a real tasty cracker for delivering some good news. True, the master looked really mad upon releasing Delibird with this one message, but whatever! Even if the news aren't that good this time, those two won't find out until the cracker lies safely within Delibird's tummy.

"Deli deliii!"

"Oh look! It's Delibird!"

Good, what enthusiasm! He's already reaching in his pocket!

"Here, Delibird!"

A cracker! A real cracker! Delibird could have sworn it looked bigger and tastier than ever before! It reached out and snatched it and from that moment on nothing existed but Cracker and Delibird, the protagonists of the never ending love story.

In the meanwhile, the two young people opened the message impatiently, without any doubt expecting the best news in the world.

"That's odd, isn't it?" the female frowned. "Why would the boss ask us to come to the Headquarters _immediately_? We have a mission and we're working on it. The next salary's in three weeks…"

"He must have remembered that he owes us some more favors… Maybe he's going to give us some days off! Or weeks off!"

Well, this may be going on for who knows how long, and since they don't appear to want to present Delibird with another cookie, the Pokémon took off without any further ado.

* * *

That small bathroom… Still, the two of them would fit comfortably. Meowth is away. The muffled sounds coming from the TV mingle with Jessie's sharp laughter. There must be something hilarious going on…

James undresses slowly, but instead of getting into the shower right away, he sinks into the plastic chair in front of the door. Breathing deeply, he closes his eyes and imagines that Jessie is shrieking so sharply in his arms. Of pleasure.

* * *

Jessie wipes her tears. She must stop laughing so hard, because it's still causing her pain. She'd better switch that TV off.

She sweeps away the prickly crumbs, the remainders of a biscuit exposed to Jessie's elbow in a spasm of laughter. What a good feeling having so many biscuits instead of having to share a single one!

Taking a few deep gulps of air, she manages to calm down and laying on her messy bed, she turns her head to the other side. That small bathroom… Still, the two of them would fit comfortably. James is in there right now – how about peeking inside? Just a little bit, through the keyhole. She seldom gets an occasion like this. Jessie can almost feel a pair of devilish horns growing out of her head, when she stealthily sneaks over to the bathroom door and finds it closed badly enough for her to leer inside. Secretly and carefully, like a thief.

* * *

How long has it been again? One day? Two days? A month? His body hungry for adventure, James doesn't even notice the silence around himself. Inside his head it's noisy enough. Is it a crime to imagine something that will probably never come true? Is it a crime to imagine it with the object of his desire separated from him only by a wall? Maybe it's not a crime, but it sure is dirty enough. And who doesn't get turned on by dirty things? Blind and deaf, alive only in his fantasies, James lets his hands wander where they want to.

* * *

By the time she lets out a cough-like sound of disbelief, Jessie can see that James is somewhere away, totally unaware of her curious glance. In a wave of surprise, she doesn't even take the time to experience jealousy upon wondering about the identity of his fantasy-companion. For how long has it been again? One day? Two days? A month? Her body hungry for adventure, Jessie decides to join her perfect man on his way to the peak. Now also blind and deaf, alive only in her fantasies, Jessie lets her hands wander where they want to, imagining they are his.

It all escalates even faster than she would have liked…

* * *

It all ends sooner than he would have liked. Panting, he sits there for a few more seconds, without opening his eyes, trying to conserve the image of a beloved face as long as possible.

* * *

Still shivering with lust, crouched in the corner beside the bathroom, Jessie accidentally lets out a sigh that is louder than she has been planning.

* * *

Already about to return to the reality of having to take a bath, a sudden noise rips James out of his dreams and makes him realize how quiet their apartment is. There is no more TV, no more laughter. Covered in a towel, he rises to check on his teammates.

Oh man, the door wasn't even closed..!

* * *

What?! Oh, no! Oh, no! What…what now? Quickly…she must pretend that she was actually doing something reasonable right there, in that position!

"Heeeee…Jessie?"

…And she must make it up now!

"Uh…what have you been doing here, Jessie?" James went bright red and Jessie too. She made a great effort to maintain a composed expression and hid a somewhat sticky hand behind her back, where she could but wipe it into her clothes. "You look like after running up and down these stairs ten times!"

"Why, you too. I was… I was just…" She grabbed a nearby napkin. "…polishing my boots!"

"You've done great work polishing them, Jess."

"I know. I am good at whatever I do."


	6. Chapter 6

**VI/**

This boy sure has a future, Giovanni smirked to himself, after the newbie Jasper left his office. He took one more look at the photographs in his hands. That Jessie and James – how long did they think they could possibly be fooling him? Rage was slowly building up inside him. His fingers sunk into the photo paper, damaging the shiny surface of the _corpus delicti_. They better be on their way by now, or else Giovanni might not answer for his deeds.

* * *

How he loved to watch her like this, while she had no idea of being watched. How he loved to watch her play with her long hair in the evening, when it gave up on holding together Jessie's favorite hairdo. How he loved to watch the beautiful curves of her body, when she was showing him her back, gently leaning out of their balloon's basket, passing her weight from one foot to another.

In a nutshell, she was a part of him, and she should admit that he should be a part of her too, since her beauty, even strengthened by his own, would cause jealousy even to the blooming cherry trees they were flying above.

The Rocket girl in her sleeping for the moment, Jessie softly pursed her lips, trying to catch the sweet scent of the cherry flowers. As her chest rose and sunk, she kept her palm pressed against her breasts, unconsciously trying to protect the broken rib that still jabbed unexpectedly from time to time.

* * *

When the two long awaited persons entered, the temperature dropped. Persian could feel that very clearly. Cats are generally sensible to energy changes around them, therefore a cat fine such as Giovanni's Persian cannot be mistaken. Yes, it is certainly colder now. To warm up a bit, the elegant Pokémon rubbed its sleek body against its master's legs. But, oh! What a shock! It looks like master doesn't even note Persian's presence! Usually one of his large, dry palms rests on Persian's velvet head. Now not only did he not respond to the posh cat's nuzzling, he even pulled away! He pulled away! What's happening?! It's cold, the air is full of Giovanni's irritated voice and it feels sort of heavy because of all the chilly fear excreted by the two youngsters.

They are standing in front of Giovanni, almost on their knees, heads bowed, hands behind their backs, two frightened hearts thumping like a pair of bells. They entered full of hopes, and Persian was astonished to see how fragile such a hope is and how quickly it can perish after only one threatening look from Giovanni.

"Never, never did I have to feel this ashamed for any of my agents! What were you two thinking? That I won't find out?! That I'll be feeding you my bread and you'll just keep tricking me?! Huh? Well, listen to me, you two good-for-nothings! You will both be receiving one half of your salary from this day on. Or maybe not, maybe I'll just fire you right away. I'll have to think that over. In each case, this is my last warning to you. Any more funny business and you can say goodbye to your uniforms. Is that understood?!"

"Yes, sir." They said this in unison, very slowly and in a strangely low, hoarse voice. Persian felt a little sorry.

* * *

"Jessie?" She was walking a few meters ahead of him. Her steps echoed through the cold, white corridor of the Team Rocket Headquarters. Apparently, she was in the state when it is not recommendable to talk to her. But James was never a fan of obeying rules and he just felt the need to notify her of his support, physical as well as moral, at least in this way.

"Jessie?" he repeated. Her fists were clenched and she did not react. He reached out for her shoulder. She must have foreseen his intention, for she took a sudden swing at him, grabbed his hand and gazed in his eyes really badly.

"This is all your fault!" Jessie hissed, apparently putting a great effort into keeping her voice down. "Now shove off and leave me alone!" At a hasty pace, she trotted away, James and a rather disconcerted Meowth right after her.

"What do you mean, Jess?! What's my fault? I thought we were in this together!"

They reached the lawn in front of the building. It was already dusky and the sky was turning red.

"Together? _To-ge-ther?!_ Don't you dare to talk to me about solidarity!"

"What the-…"

"We gave up on following the twerps because _you_ took the trouble of persuading me it was needless! I wanted to catch the real Pikachu for us and Giovanni would have never found out! We could have been living like kings forever!"

"I never did that, stop accusing me!"

"Fine! I'll never accuse you of anything again!"

"Jessie! Stop! Wait! Where are you running?!"

"I say, Jimmy boy, now there's no point trying to stop 'er," Meowth's voice said somewhere from ground level.

* * *

The moment she made sure she was out of sight, Jessie gradually loosened all of her tense facial muscles and therefore began to cry. Shivering violently and barely being able to walk, the Rocket girl leaned against a tree, sunk into the dirt and kicked a stone with all her might, to ventilate the suppressed emotions at least a little bit. She needed those tears to realize a few things. They say that no one knows you like yourself – but then how is it possible that Jessie is still sometimes surprised by her behavior? Why did she even do it? Why did she once again do something she knew wasn't just? Why did she vent her anger on a person she passionately loved? What now? She sure can't go back, she's too proud to do that. Therefore she'll have to deal with a night in the forest – alone. Or maybe not that alone:

"Arbok? Come on out! Wobbuffet, you too! You'll keep me company and I'll keep you company. Let's find a place to stay! We don't need James and Meowth, that traitor who chose to stay with him, now do we?" Jessie reached for her phone. In it she had an application showing all the Team Rocket cottages in the region. But then she realized that Giovanni took their phones as a punishment, saying he won't be paying any more of their accounts, if they aren't able to work properly. Quietly, she cursed.

The forest was getting dark and James was the one to have the flashlight. In fact, Jessie had nothing but a big, purple snake and a round, blue creature. Where did she even leave her brains when choosing to run away?

Closely followed by Arbok and Wobbuffet, trying to restore her some of her confidence, Jessie took some hesitant steps, flinching whenever a twig cracked under her foot. As if time were playing against her, it seemed to have got dark much faster than normally. Most forest Pokémon fell silent and retired to their dens and burrows, some on the other hand opened their gleaming eyes, ready to begin their daily activities. The summer breeze calmed down and ceased to rustle the tree tops. It actually became so quiet that Jessie could only hear two things – her own breath and Arbok's reptilian blinking.

* * *

"I'm sorry I didn't buy you a larger bottle, Pikachu. I know how you like eating ketchup…"

"Piiika pi…"

"You're right, buddy. We can buy a new one tomorrow…"

"Wait Ash, I think I have some left in my bag…"

"Cool, you always have everything, Brock!"

"Not everything, just what we need."

"Say thank you, Pikachu."

"Piiiika!"

"I'm happy to help, Pikachu."

"Wha-… did you hear that?"

"What?"

"There's something in the bushes!"

"You're seeing things, Misty…"

"No, I'm not, look for yourselves! I-It's right there!"

"Where?!"

"There, you dummies!"

"Wait, it's…no, please don't tell me it's _them_ again!"

"Team Roc-… or is there something missing?"

"James must have got fired! And Meowth!"

"That's none of your business, brats! Now you'd better prepare for trouble! …And make it double. To protect the world from devastation! ...To unite all people within our nation… To denounce the evils of truth and love… To… to… oh, no. This just doesn't work. And I'm not even working for Team Rocket anymore…or…I guess so."

"Why did they fire you?"

"Long story, twerps."

"And how did you get here?"

"That one's even longer."

"Maybe you can join us and tell us?"

"Misty…"

"No, Ash, look at her! She looks so devastated!"

"Yeah, so devastated she couldn't even say the motto…"

"Ash, stop it now! Jessie… Come and have some dinner with us, there's room for everyone."

* * *

James had long since got used to the disobedient lock of hair that so liked to tickle either side of his nose. Blowing at it has become a part of his life. Whenever he, for some reason, wanted to look seriously busy, he blew the fidgety strand, frowning and full of concentration. Whenever he wanted to relax of just distract himself, he blew the strand. Whenever his thoughts went astray, all he needed to do was to fix them on the malicious lock of hair to bring them back to the right path. That is what he was anxiously trying to do, while distantly passing by shops, restaurants and people in the city. It was dark, he hardly had any money left, he had no place to sleep, no Jessie and no means to buy another luxurious cupcake. All he had was a grumbling stomach and a miserable, broken biscuit in his pocket. Just like the good old times, he sighed.

Meowth had a slightly different problem. It was, of course, worried about Jessie, but all the same, Jessie did leave them several times before and they always ended up together again. Nevertheless, Meowth is to be considered a highly loyal companion, as not for a moment did it take its eyes off James' worn face, not even after stumbling several times for not looking at its feet, and not even after its neck began to ache because of the unnatural position.

Basically, they had walked in the same direction where they thought Jessie might've been running, and the path led them to this city. Although it was getting late, the city centre didn't seem to want to rest – unlike James and Meowth, who already had to put great effort into walking and keeping their eyes open. But on the other hand – will they be able to sleep without knowing about Jessie? Where is she? Maybe somewhere close by? Did she find a place to stay? She's a woman, so she sure wouldn't just sleep under a tree…

There were lots of big, creative, neon headings, for some reason many of them yellow and red. They resemble a nicely done parody of the night sky, James thought, while tossing his head to get his lock of hair out of the way.

The colors mingled with a smell of fried oil, street food and lively chattering of the people, running from bar to bar, going home, or simply talking. Especially the scent of fresh food represented quite a provocation to starving James and Meowth. In fact, he was just about to examine the offer of one of the food stands, when he saw something that made him feel first excited, then guilty, and finally ill. Excited, because it would make Jessie happy. Guilty, because he spent the remainders of his money. And ill, because Fury swipes really hurt. But why should he even care? With another colorful and tasty cupcake in his hands, he imagined Jessie, how she slowly brushes her finger against her lips to remove the last crumbs of this delicious pastry. Blowing at his strand and feeding on his love, as Meowth had previously advised him, he begun to invent a way to deliver yet another of her beloved cupcakes to his beloved Jessie.

* * *

A tiny flower, wet with dew, tickled Jessie's nose and woke her up at an hour when the sun was still bright pink. Just like that morning after blasting off last time, she tapped out the cold body of Arbok, sleeping around her. Attempting not to wake it, she stretched and yawned lazily, and all the same, she knew she can't go back to sleep. She sat up. Her eyes hurt and even without a mirror she knew they must be red. Indeed, almost everything was the same as that morning, except a few details. There were the twerps instead of James and no one was busy preparing her breakfast.

Sighing softly, she stood up and wrapped her arms around her body to warm up a little in the chilly morning. Her long, red hair was desperately asking for attention, but was ignored. With her arms folded and her narrowed eyes bearing an absent expression, she gazed into the trees of the forest from where she emerged yesterday, hardly knowing why. Her pupils wandered over to the silhouettes of three sleeping children. The sight filled her with shame as well as a bit of disgust. She most probably wouldn't have been so generous with them as they've been with her – once again. And oh, that humiliation, when children have to take care of you…

Pikachu was snoring by Ash's head in its master's cap. Jessie must have been seriously ill at those moments, since not for a second did she think of stealing it.

She started, when she realized that Misty's green eyes were watching her inconspicuously, but closely.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," Jessie sat down on the wet grass beside Misty's sleeping sack.

The girl only shook her head and sat up as well. Her eyes reflected experience, but her tiny, turned up nose betrayed her infancy. Her hair was just as undone as Jessie's, so the (former?) Rocket girl evaluated her as an acceptable chat partner for the moment. Not that it made her specially happy, it was more like she needed someone, anyone, to talk to. And Misty was at hand. And the next moment she came up with a most pleasing question:

"Would you like tea?"

"Thanks. Wait, let me help you."

Jessie felt that Misty was going to question her – she was a mere curious female after all. But in the corner of her heart, she desired it. Misty will soon forget it and to Jessie it will mean an enormous relief.

The raising sun was warming up the air conform the small heater was warming up the water. Quietly preparing the ingredients for breakfast, girl and woman begun their conversation.

"So why aren't you in Team Rocket anymore?"

"I'm not…I don't know if I am in Team Rocket or not. The boss said he needed to think whether he'll fire me…us…or not."

"What?! Who'd have to think about such things?"

"Giovanni?"

"Well…"

Misty snatched a berry. "And where's James?"

"Dunno. Somewhere… I don't care."

"Yes, you do."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because it's true."

"…I accused him of everything…everything. And I know just how unjust I was. But I can't just go and say sorry, that's not my style."

"So what do you want to do, Jessie? Live with your heart full of reproaches?"

"There's not a single reproach in my heart."

"You're such a miserable liar."

"…Just a little."

"Good. So after we eat, off you go to search for James and beg his pardon."

"There's no need, he'll come find me himself."

"As you please, _madame_. Here's your tea."

"Thank you…Misty."

They didn't have much more time for female talk, as the two youngsters accompanying them soon rose from their dreams, immediately claiming their share of breakfast. Jessie was feeling incredibly relaxed, like she never felt when on a mission with her teammates. I must enjoy this chillout while I can, she kept persuading herself. Too soon James and Meowth will join me again – because Giovanni will hopefully conclude that firing the three of us would mean a tremendous loss to Team Rocket – and we'll be on missions again, in a constant hurry. After the twerps. The ones I am just staying with. The ones that are so magnanimously taking care of me.

But working for Team Rocket – Jessie kept suggesting to herself that thinking of herself as a part of the organization might actually influence Giovanni's choice – obliges you to obey certain rules, and one of them is to be a tough guy, or woman, in Jessie's case. Therefore she can't let herself get carried away by the twerpette's charity. Focusing on this fact as hard as she could, she set her eyes on the electric mouse Pokémon, meeting its ever so suspicious glance. Jessie could have sworn that Pikachu was a mind reader…

"Prepare for trouble," she sneered the next moment, with an agitated Pikachu dangling by its tail from her hand in a rubber glove she tucked out from her bag. She wished to laugh at the twerps' shocked expressions, but she had to continue: "…and make it double!" There now, somehow it even sounds natural this time! "To protect the world from devastation! …"

"You must seriously be joking," Ash gasped, "after all this! After you made us trust you!"

"That just proves how twerpish you guys are! And don't you dare to interrupt our…I mean _my_ motto!" She was having very good fun when she finally lived to see the moment when Ash told Pikachu to use thunderbolt and it did nothing because of Jessie's rubber glove. Scampering away with her precious catch, Jessie sung: "…To unite all people within our nation…to denounce the evils of truth and love… Man, I'm so skillful and self-sufficient, besides being gorgeous and sexy, let's confess it. Eh, Pikachu?"

"Ka chuuu!"

"Give Pikachu back, Jessie, you have no chance! You know you don't! Not even when you were with James were you able to get away with Pikachu!"

"Well, twerp, times change. _Au revoir_!"

Jumping and running over roots and ill-wishing tufts of grass, with Pikachu fluttering in her hands, Jessie ran and ran on, gripping the tail of the electric mouse as hard as she could.

So busy fluttering, Pikachu reached out a paw to grab a piece of Jessie's bare skin and gave her a thunderbolt so strong and quick that the next second it was free, swiftly hopping in its master's direction.

Jessie clenched her teeth and growled in a rather creepy way, as she was flying through the air, blasting off again. There was no one she could kick or beat up or pull by the hair. Blasting off alone is no fun at all…


End file.
